The Way of Smoke
'It feels better to walk down a mountain than up one.' Kenshi thought to himself as he followed behind his brother with Ruby and Yang making up the rear.
It was midway through a checkup tour for the brothers. To retrace the journey of their conquest to see how efforts have been going, and to get an idea of what to focus on next to improve things. What everyone had noticed was just how lovely the day was. The tail end of summer was upon them, the sun indeed shined, but there was no imposing or oppressive wind to blight them that day. The previous day, they checked up on the small hamlets before Patch, which were doing as well as could be expected. A few newcomers, the garrisons doing their job, and the people at least feeling less stressed.
They were about to reach the first village they had taken, which caused Kenshi to have his mind flash back to the horrid ropes on the ledge. Hoping he never would have to go on those again, he was grateful to Lady Sun above that the roads had dried out since the rains that stalled their progress. Then Azura's voice broke him out of his thoughts.
"Look alive, brother. The village is coming up. And already it looks so much better." Azura said with a proud smile.
Looking down, he had to admit his brother was right. Even just as they reached the gates, the people were out and about. Some trade had returned, as several merchants were plying their wares in the plaza, alongside local shops. Before the village could barely be called that with so few people. Now, it was bustling with said people. Even further on as they arrived in the town, he could see teams of people moving up and down the ropeways up and down the cliffs. Some of which with tools and more rope… indicating maintenance or even expansion of them.
"Lady Ruby. May I ask you… what is the purpose of those horrid ropeways that this village has?" Kenshi asked, which got a groan out of Azura when he heard it.
"Are you still not over that yet, brother?" Azura asked, frustrated with Kenshi's complaining.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm not exactly a fan of something that, if I just barely lose my grip on, I'll fall to my death. Even Master Yūri wasn't so blatantly insane as to put us through something like that. And he made us walk on lit coals." Kenshi shot back.
Azura gave his brother a deadpan look at that. "You do remember one of his initial tests to see if we could handle his training was to have us climb up the mountain of the Watanabe Family's castle without any climbing gear, right? After a tens to hundreds of miles hike through a monster, Grimm, and beast-infested forest?" he asked, as if questioning his twin's sanity.
"Are… are you joking about that…?" Yang asked, more than a little concerned.
"How did you two survive that!?" Ruby asked in disbelief.
"Now that you have dragged it forcefully from the dank recesses of my mine, yes dear brother. Thank you so much for reminding me of something I very clearly didn't want to remember." Kenshi huffed.
"Oh, okay… being ignored…" Ruby replied in a mildly surprised tone.
"We asked you questions, damn it!" Yang replied indignantly.
"Yes, we did have to go through that. Physically, we are fine. Mentally, I question." Kenshi answered, as if bored with having to answer it.
"Come now, brother. That was hardly the worst thing that happened to us under Sensei's tutelage." Azura reminded his twin.
"Oh, you're right, brother. That was the snake pit." Kenshi growled.
"Remember us being literally catapulted into the Forest of the Four Beasts and having to survive for a year in there? Three months per each of the four parts of it surrounding our homelands?" Azura asked, shuddering at the memory.
Yang slowly turned to look at her sister as the men reminisced. "How do you have a crush on these people?" she asked her younger sister in shock.
Blushing, Ruby simply smacked Yang on the arm. "Yang, shut up before they hear you…!" she whispered to her older sister harshly.
"Thank you for reminding me, Lady Yang. There also was that time that he threatened us with being crushed with twelve anvils. Twelve. As if one wasn't enough." Kenshi complained vigorously.
"... How in the flying fuck are you two not dead!?" Yang asked in sheer disbelief.
"Sheer force of will. Death can't take you if you flip it off hard enough." Kenshi calmly replied.
"... That helps me none!" Yang replied in exasperation.
"My intention wasn't helping you, Lady Yang. Merely giving you an answer." Kenshi answered her.
"... Please tell me you aren't going to be having me do crazy things like that…" Ruby asked of Azura.
"Of course not. You'll be starting with the beginner's course. Besides, where are we going to find a yak at this hour?" Azura said, as if to try and calm her down.
"... What's a yak?" Ruby asked in shock.
"Have you ever seen a cow?" Azura asked.
"Once. It tried to bite me." Ruby answered simply.
"Picture that, but bigger, hairier, and with bigger horns." Azura replied simply.
"You kill my sister, I will…" Yang said, before being cut off by Kenshi.
"Lady Yang, what kills you makes you stronger. Besides, what could you possibly do that, could in any way, scare us?" Kenshi asked her.
"You ever had a rope burn where the sun don't shine from climbing up the rope ways?" Yang asked, immediately getting Kenshi's attention and amusing Azura greatly.
"No, why?" Kenshi replied.
"It can't be worse than having your fingers and hands bleeding from rock climbing without gear, using just your hands, feet, and aura." Azura remarked.
"Yang, are you talking about the blood hornets?" Ruby asked inquisitively, immediately getting a reaction out of the men.
"The blood-what now?" the twins asked simultaneously.
"Oh, they're terribly vicious bugs that make their nests in mountain crevices. They get under your clothing, sting you loads of times, and each sting feels like lava in your skin. Dad says he saw one guy get rope burn and bleed a drop, and an entire hive stung him and ate him alive." Ruby explained with shocking calm.
"... Never mind. That is worse…" Azura simply replied, as white as a sheet.
"... Sensei. Please take me back…" Kenshi muttered, turning pale.
"Lords Sōtora! So grand to see you again!" the voice of an old man said behind them.
Turning around, Azura and Kenshi saw the elder from weeks before. However, he practically looked like a different person. Gone was his thin, near starving body, and instead replaced by one that had filled out to a far more proper amount for a man of his age. He wore a more colorful poncho and clothing, and a smile graced his lips. His lips were having a hard time going out as far as he wanted them, likely due to so many years of not having a reason to smile.
"Do you like what we have done with the place?" the elder asked, extending his arms out with pride referring to the village.
Azura smiled and nodded. "Absolutely, honored elder. We're so happy to see how things have improved." he told the old man.
"I cannot thank you enough for the guards you left behind. Since they have been here, hardly anyone has had an issue with bandits or Grimm. Someone finds a Grimm or their nest, they have dealt with it immediately. Your men are some of the finest I have ever met, and their ancestors would be proud." the man continued, bowing his head to the two lords.
Kenshi smiled. "You honor us with your praise." he replied as he and Azura bowed their heads back.
"Um… who are you?" Ruby asked, confused.
"My apologies, young ladies. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Pablo Donquixote, an elder of the Donquixote clan. Pleased to meet you." The elder, now identified as Pablo, introduced himself to the girls before noticing Ruby's eyes as his own widened in shock. "I… is it true? Did one of the legendary heroes actually survive…?"
"Um…" Ruby nervously said, before Azura fortunately stepped in to help her.
"My apologies, Elder Donquixote, but what do you mean?" Azura asked the old man.
"This girl… she has them! The Silver Eyes! One of them actually survived! There truly is still hope!" Pablo called out in joy.
This caught the rest of the village's attention, and a crowd began to form. As more and more people got a look at Ruby's eyes, the energy began to intensify. Pure joy and relief washed through the growing crowds like a tsunami, cascading out and pulling everyone else in. However, as Azura and Ruby were flooded by these people, Yang and Kenshi hung back and watched.
"Hey Kenshi. Want to go look in some old caves?" Yang asked as more throngs surrounded the other pair.
"Anything would be better than a potential history lesson…" Kenshi replied simply.
"Now you're speaking my language. Come on. Dad told me about some old caves out past those fields that way." Yang said, waving for Kenshi to follow her.
"Lead the way, Lady Yang." Kenshi replied, following behind her.
Walking out the gates that Kenshi and Azura first arrived at the village, they saw the fields in a far more cleaned up state. More prepared for next year's planting season and even the beginnings of entire new fields for next year. Heading past Pablo's clan's cave, they soon headed off into tall grass. Jackrabbits and deer observed them as they walked past, before returning to their munching. Finally, they arrived at what appeared to be another ropeway, this one being horizontal rather than vertical. Which made Kenshi halt.
"Ropes… it had to be ropes…" Kenshi sighed.
"Would you prefer it to be anacondas?" Yang asked as she readied herself.
"... Ropes are fine. Shall we head across?" Kenshi replied, rolling up his sleeves.
Without another word, Yang gave a smirk and sprinted. With a great leap, she made it to the fifth rope out, shocking Kenshi with her athletic ability. Then, like the native spider monkey, she began to swing and hop across them with perfect ease. Seeing her move so quickly forced Kenshi to make a leap of his own, making it to the sixth rope out. However, as he started to swing, he found himself not as coordinated as the blonde amazon was. Causing him to curse himself under his breath.
"Damn local jungle woman…" Kenshi muttered, beginning to move.
"Come on, blue boy! Times a wastin'!" Yang called back before swinging to another vine.
With a grumble, Kenshi swung after her. Focusing on the sheer cliff faces of endless gray before him, he felt the ropes as he went and as he saw them. They were old, dirty, and not in good shape. As much as he hated to say, he wished he were back on the ones he climbed up with Azura. It was as if this route was not used in years. Considering the time, labor, and resources to make one of these ropeways up and across any stretch of cliff face, it made him wonder just why this route was unused.
"Hurry up, Ken! I found a cave!" Yang called out, which frustrated Kenshi for multiple reasons.
"I will be there soon! And don't call me Ken…" He called out before grumbling.
"Let me guess, only Big Boy Blue can call you that?" Yang asked as Kenshi finally got up on the part of the cliff she was on, clambering up the old rope.
"I'm taller than Azura is!" Kenshi indignantly replied.
"He's clearly the one in charge." Yang quipped back.
"Only because he's older by two minutes!" Kenshi shot in response.
"Easy, Blue, easy. You can work that out with Big Blue later. Right now, we got a cave to explore." Yang said calmly, before punching his arm playfully.
Taking a deep breath, Kenshi nodded and followed behind her. The cave was well worn in appearance, as wind and rainfall had clearly eroded it. Yet it was also miraculously clear of debris. Heading inside, they found no discomfort in moving through it, even with the taller than average heights of the two. After what felt like a few minutes, they eventually noticed the distinct sight of torches lighting the way. In this moment, the two realized… this cave was not empty.
"... We aren't alone…" Yang said with a hushed tone.
Kenshi shushed her quietly as the two crept deeper into the cavern. They soon began to hear voices over a lot of rustling. As they got ever closer, they saw men and women hauling vast quantities of firewood, specifically ones Yang noticed that were good at making smoke. Yet these looked far different than any people either of them had seen. While their biological features were in line for the people of the region, they were covered in esoteric and tribal tattoos. Many also wore jade and other stone jewelry on them, and some even wore masks made of stone. When they got close enough to hear them, the conversations caught their attention.
"I wonder when the next mummification day is coming?" one asked as they picked up a stack of wood. "We haven't had one in a while. Did the priests forget?"
"I don't think so. Maybe they've just had a hard time finding a suitable candidate?" another one replied questioningly.
"Quiet, you two troggs. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get the rituals right? Those damn Nobles have been hogging all the best smoking wood for mummification. If the body isn't treated right, then you can't bring them back. Now less chatting, more hauling! Or I'll replace you two with a fucking ass!" The one with a stone mask angrily said, which got the two moving with haste.
"Mummification…? What are they talking about…?" Kenshi whispered as quietly as he could, trying to be mindful of the echo.
"I heard they used to do that during the days of the old kings. I didn't think anyone did it now. But resurrecting the dead…? How is that possible…? No one short of the gods can do that…" Yang whispered back.
"We need to get back and report this to my brother…" Kenshi quietly whispered.
The two tried to turn around and leave. Each stepped forward, and both heard a loud crunch under foot. Looking down, they had each stepped on a dropped stick, likely from all the firewood being carried in. Looking back, they saw all the workers looking at them.
"Um… hey… know a good smoking recipe?" Yang nervously asked.
Kenshi rolled his eyes as he tried to come up with a good excuse. "Don't mind us. We simply got lost." he tried to explain.
"Don't just stand there, you troggs! Kill the intruders!" The man with the mask roared.
As the workers rushed at them, Yang and Kenshi tried to run down the way they came, until they saw more men of similar extraction rushing down that way. Forced to run further into the cave complex, they realize that people were actually living down here. Bedrooms, kitchen spaces, workshops, shrines, storerooms, and more were down there in carved interiors. Not that it mattered to them as they were forced to run down them at Mach yes to try and escape the ever-expanding horde.
However, in their haste, the two made a critical mistake. As they reached a junction, both made a split decision at the same time, and each went in the opposite direction. Kenshi went left while Yang went right. However, by the time they noticed, they had to keep running due to the horde catching up with them. Kenshi soon made his way into what appeared to be an ancestral shrine, with all sorts of trinkets and objects in veneration to some individual. However, he turned around to find the doorway blocked by men with stone masks and stone axes.
"Alright, Big Blue. Time to meet your maker." One of them growled.
Drawing his sword, Kenshi glared at them. "We'll see about that, you mongrels." he growled out, readying his katana.
With that, four of these masked assailants rushed into attack, their weapons raised with vicious purpose. This did not phase Kenshi as, if anything, this was tame by his estimations. Even if he was not used to fighting in a cave, he was not about to let that stop him.
Activating his Semblance, it coated his hands in large aura gauntlets as a large aura sword coated his own and extended his reach. Rushing in, he slashed with the aura blade as one of the stone ax-wielding foes tried to block it. However, Kenshi simply applied more pressure downward and broke through the stone ax, slashing into the enemy's shoulder. The man dropped to the ground as Kenshi rushed in, slashing and stabbing with his blade while trying to keep its length manageable for the confined space.
Catching a stone ax with one of his aura gauntlet-covered hands, he squeezed and broke the stone ax before sending his foe flying back with a punch to the face. Slashing with his aura sword, he cut one opponent down as the last one backed up to maintain distance. The last one had a smug look on his face as he seemed to be out of Kenshi's reach only for the eastern mercenary to pull his blade back. With a forward thrust, the aura blade surrounding his sword suddenly extended in length at high speed. Before the masked assailant could react, he found himself pierced through the chest and impaled against a wall, killing him instantly.
As Kenshi deactivated his Semblance, the aura gauntlets and sword disappeared as Kenshi began to move to look for a way out while moving to sheath his blade. However, his relief was short-lived as another enemy, this one with a thin but curved great sword reminiscent of a katana met him at the mouth of the room. To his surprise, the sword was a crystal-like structure and translucent like Ruby's scythe blade. Jumping back, Kenshi prepared for battle as he reactivated his Semblance, the aura gauntlets and sword flaring back to life.
"You have come far, foreigner, but no further. Time to die." The man said through his stone mask, pulling the sword off his back.
Weapon and Semblance at the ready, Kenshi glared at him. "Try it, scum!" he replied.
The two warriors rushed at each other as Kenshi swung his aura blade forward. To his surprise, his enemy easily blocked the swing with his crystalline great sword. Even as Kenshi tried to put more pressure down, he could not break the blade of the weapon. With a swing of his own crystalline blade, the masked man forced Kenshi back as Kenshi tried to rebalance himself.
Rushing in, the two clashed their blades as the resulting clangs of sword blows bounced off the walls. With each deflected slash, their blades slammed into walls of the cavern and dug holes in it. However, the two could not make full use of their blades due in part to the confined space. Eventually, however, Kenshi was the first one to make a mistake.
Overextending himself on a swing, Kenshi had to rebalance himself as his opponent swung with his great sword. Barely bringing his own blade up in time to block, Kenshi found his blade knocked back and deflected down, the cutting edge of his sword, both aura and steel, dug deep into the ground of the cavern. Seeing his opening, the masked assailant struck.
"RAAARGH!" he roared as he swung down on Kenshi's blade, snapping both aura and steel in half in one stroke.
Meanwhile: With Yang
Yang equally had no bloody clue where she was. Each time she thought she found a way out or back to Kenshi; she seemed to get herself deeper and deeper into the labyrinth of a cave complex. She did not have time to think about just how complex and filled with people this old cave was. Only that she needed to escape. Eventually, turning into a large storeroom, she finally realized there was no way out and she had to fight. Yet something at the back of the room caught her eye.
At first, she thought it was a torch or a leftover fire. Yet, as she got closer, it was anything but. On the table, over bracers of lacquered leather, was a set of crystalline aura gauntlets of a fiery golden yellow tint. She had only ever seen the clear, moonlight and translucent color of Ruby's scythe, but they were beautiful. They sort of reminded her of the design of the guards' gauntlets of the Golden Nobles, with a big difference being a larger plate over her knuckles. As if it was made to be used to punch things.
"Now we're talkin!" Yang muttered as she rushed to put them on, and clanked them together in a punch, making an echoing clang.
"She's in here!" One of the masked men yelled, leading in several non-masked workers in after them.
"Nowhere to run, blondie!" One of them said in a snide manner, cracking their knuckles.
Yang smirked. "The only ones who should be running now are you. Come to momma!" she yelled out before rushing in.
The workers drew weapons of their own, swords, daggers, and axes all made of stone, and rushed into attack. When one swung a sword at Yang, she raised her gauntlets up and easily blocked the swing. Pushing back, she forced her opponent back and punched forward while putting her own aura into the blow as the enemy tried to block with his blade. To all the combatants' surprise, a golden yellow and red fireball shot from the fist of the gauntlet. The fireball and the force it was launched with shattered the sword like a piece of pottery while the resulting blast blew the opponent backwards into the wall.
Looking down at her smoking gauntlet, the assailants gulped as Yang grinned. "Momma like…" she purred out with a small degree of sadistic glee.
Rushing in, Yang lashed out with a punch as one of the enemies tried to block with the flat of his stone ax. However, Yang's fiery blow plowed straight through it, breaking the stone ax apart like it was not even there while the resulting blast slammed into him. The blow sent him crashing into the wall of the cavern as another enemy rushed in with two daggers. Slashing at Yang with one, he found his dagger blocked by the crystalline gauntlet before Yang pushed back, forcing him to dodge a punch as he slashed with the other only to be blocked again.
Unleashing a flurry of blows against each other, Yang blocked the dagger-wielding enemy's attack while the non-masked worker tried to dodge her blows to avoid getting his weapons broken. Both are waiting for the other to make a mistake. Finally, the assailant stepped back, giving ground while accidentally giving Yang her opening. Rushing forward, Yang unleashed a barrage of fiery punches into the assailant that knocked the breath from him before, with one final explosive right cross, sending him flying into the wall of the cavern, rattling it like a small earthquake.
Looking down at her smoking gauntlet, Yang gave an appreciative whistle. "A girl could get used to these bad boys…" she remarked with a grin. "Now to go find Kenshi."
Back with Kenshi
"So much for that dinky little sword of yours. Never understood why anyone made anything out of metal. When the Silver Eyed Warriors could make stuff like this out of Aura." The masked marauder chuckled with glee at what he just did, before walking menacingly towards Kenshi.
Kenshi glared at the assailant. "You'll pay for that!" he shot back, picking up the broken half of the blade and sticking it in the sheath carefully before sheathing the other half.
"I'd like to see you try." He smugly said, before going in for another swing.
However, to his surprise, Kenshi caught his blade between his aura-gauntlet coated hands. Struggling, the masked assailant tried to struggle to push it down but found Kenshi's strength to be too great. At that, Kenshi smirked and made his move.
"RRRAAAARGH!" With a roar of his own, Kenshi pushed up on the blade and stuck it up into the ceiling of the room.
Trying to pull his blade free, the assailant found his attempts all for naught as the blade was stuck too deeply for him to pull out with his own strength. Looking down, he was soon met with an aura gauntlet-covered fist to the face that knocked him away from his blade and sent him crashing to the floor. Mounting his opponent, Kenshi rained down blows upon his foe, hitting him with hammer blow after bone-rattling hammer blow. Finally, when he was sure his foe would not be getting up, Kenshi stood up and glared down at him.
"That sword you broke was a clan heirloom, asshole." the eastern mercenary growled out before spitting on his opponent's unconscious form.
"Kenshi!! Where the hell are you!!?" cried the echoing call of Yang, followed by the sudden sounds of explosions.
"I'm here!" Kenshi called out before looking around for something to arm himself with.
Looking around, he tried to find something that was not made of stone, before turning his head to look up. There, the crystalline sword sat buried in the cave ceiling. It was the blade that used to break his own. Though unorthodox… it would be an appropriate way of retaining his honor, by wielding the blade that broke his own. Grabbing hold of it and pulling down with all his might, he at last had it in his hand.
"Not normally a two-hander kind of guy, but I can make it work." Kenshi muttered to himself before slung it over his shoulder.
Grabbing the sheath off the masked assailant and hastily putting it on his own back, he then sheathed it with post-haste. What surprised him was just how light it felt, somehow feeling even lighter than his own katana. However, now he was not to worry about such a detail as he rushed out back the way he came. By the time he reached the intersection, he found Yang pummeling a man's face that was also on fire until his skull split open.
"What took you, Ken?" Yang asked, standing back up after finishing him.
"Had a bit of trouble with someone who broke my sword. Had to pick up a replacement." Kenshi replied, motioning with his thumb to the blade on his back.
"Glad to see I'm not the only one that found some new gear in here." Yang said, showing off her new gauntlets.
Nodding, Kenshi gave a smile. "Shall we get going and report our findings to my brother?" he asked.
Hearing more coming from deeper in the cave, Yang nodded and the two bolted. While the two were not as fast as their speedier siblings, their athletic frames allowed them to bolt at frightening speed. However, even that was not enough to get them out of the maze fast enough, as the horde began to close. As they neared the entrance, Yang noticed a large, paper-like mass. Her eyes widened as she realized exactly what it was, and she smirked. Grabbing hold of it, she chucked it quickly, smashing into the first worker that came through the doorway just as they came through.
"What the… oh fuck, it burns!!!!" the worker screamed as a buzzing mass of red insects soon began to bite and sting at him, turning his veins to fire and beginning to make him bleed from the bites.
This mass of insects halted any progress that these crazy folk had, and the sudden sight of that out of the corner of his eye gave Kenshi all the motivation he needed. By the time the two got out of the cave, they were forced to put their hands on their knees and pant heavily. Yang wiped the sweat off her brow before looking at Kenshi.
"Those Blood Wasps came in clutch." Yang said with a smile.
"Yes, they did…" Kenshi replied with a smile of his own.
"Well, it sucks to be them. Let's get out of here before the Wasps get full and let them through." Yang said before leaping onto a rope.
Without another word, Kenshi swiftly followed. Both of them, quite full of adventure for the day, had one hell of a story to tell the village and their siblings. And they already knew that it was going to be a hard story for them to believe…