Chapter Thirteen: Not the Enemy (Kasumi)

Enemies or not, they're still potential fans!

Kasumi trudges behind both Nicholas and Engelard, the hot sun blazing down on them. She's half-convinced, by the time the sun goes down, her scalp will be fried to a crisp.

Nicholas carries his cloak and warmer clothes either in his hands or has them slung over his shoulder, while Engelard aggressively fans himself with his hand.

No enemy encampments are in sight for miles, meaning the two will have a relatively peaceful day trip as they come ever so closer to Schlieren, Nicholas' ultimate decision when given the choice by Felix to choose one of the two locations to restock their supplies at.

"Ahh! Any longer in this sun, and my skin is going to begin cooking! I won't be able to meet any more fans because they'll all run away when they see the horrific burns this sun has bestowed upon me!" Kasumi cries, and Engelard snorts in reply.

"You're not the only one who hates this. To stop you from complaining, why don't you tell us about yourself? Why you decided to become a figure skater and look for fans in Schweiz, of all countries," Engelard suggests, and Kasumi is overjoyed at his suggestion.

"Ooo! Alright! Where shall I start? Well, I was born in Tokio, Japan. I was an only child, so I got all my parents' attention. We always loved to watch both the Sommer and Olympische Winterspiele broadcasts every two years, and I grew to love ice skating.

"I believe my first experience with the ice was when I was three. I used to travel to an ice rink with my parents every winter and try my best at skating like the older kids on the ice. I wasn't very good until I was around six or seven.

"I decided, to improve my talent and allow my name to be known to more people, I would participate in junior ice-skating competitions. I won three bronze, ten silver, and eleven gold medals once I reached the age of sixteen, and was finally allowed to try out for Japan's Olympische Winterspiele ice skating team.

"Of course, I was accepted, and kept practicing my hobby and improving. I've won one bronze, three silver, and five gold so far, and I don't plan on quitting anytime soon! I'm learning new spins, tricks, and all sorts of awesome stunts! I might even name a few after you all!" Kasumi giggles once again, her rivalry with the sun now a thing of the past.

"Oh, please do," Engelard mutters, eyes narrowed against the bright, burning star in the sky.

"As for the reason I came to Schweiz, I...don't remember! Any country outside of wonderful Japan was a great choice. But whenever I try and think 'what if I went to this place, or that place' my mind just automatically thinks of Schweiz and how awesome a place this will be to gather fans after we extinguish this war!"

"You don't remember, hm? Odd, but I guess it's only expected with the war and how to stop it being the main subject on everyone's mind as we speak," Nicholas reasons and Kasumi nods along, skipping forward to be beside him.

Kasumi takes a peek at the map Nicholas holds in his hands. She can pick out where their destination is from the little blue dot that is circled in black pen but doesn't know how far they are from that area.

The girl hits something but is paused from falling backward by Nicholas' hand on her upper back. The ice skater shakes her head, and sees Engelard, standing still right in front of her.

"Hey, are you okay, Engelard? Why are you-oh."

In front of the three is a single soldier, the flag on the side of their uniform signifying they are from Russland. Kasumi holds her breath, and she can see Engelard slowly reach for an arrow.

Noticing this, the soldier points their gun at Engelard, their finger on the trigger. Nicholas puts a hand on Engelard's shoulder and turns his head so only he and Kasumi can hear his next words.

"I've got this. Engelard, give me a switchblade."

"What? Why?"

"No questions. Just give it to me. I'll be fine, trust me."

Engelard stealthily slips a switchblade out of a pocket of his outfit and gives it to Nicholas, who hides it behind his back with his right hand. With his left hand, he reaches into his cloak, drawing the attention of the soldier, whose gun now points at him.

Nicholas only pulls out a white carnation, and walks up to the soldier, presenting the flower to him.

"To you, my handsome sir, as you are as innocent and pure as the carnation I offer you. I and I assume you, would not wish for such a beautiful flower representing a far more wonderous soul to be stained with blood that shall taint these petals crimson," Nicholas' voice is soft, but still loud enough that the others can hear him.

Was Nicholas flirting with an enemy soldier? Did he have a death wish? What kind of sick joke was this? He was going to get everyone here killed, and then Reko would stay stuck in the White Cathedral for who knew how long!

Kasumi exchanges a look of confusion with Engelard, who looks equally baffled.

The soldier, meanwhile, looks from Nicholas to the flower, lowers his gun, and takes the flower with his free hand. The former king offers the soldier a small smile, before putting his left hand on the soldier's left shoulder, and walking around to be behind him.

Nicholas whispers something into the soldier's ear, then moves his left hand to be over the soldier's eyes while his right hand reveals the switchblade, which glides effortlessly over the enemy's neck. He drops to the ground without a sound, and the former king tosses the switchblade back to a stunned Engelard, who recovers just in time to catch it and return it to his pocket.

Kasumi, dumbfounded, can only look on as Nicholas steps over the soldier's body and gestures for everyone to continue walking in the direction they were originally going.

"D-Did you just convince that soldier to trust you for a moment, and then slit his throat? Sure, what I do can be cruel, but that..." Engelard can't even finish his sentence.

"There is no time to be nice in war, Engelard sweetheart. And I made that soldier fall in love with me like I stated I could do earlier. Sadly, it only works on one person, not three," Nicholas stops again, and points ahead of the trio.

"Why only three and not two? Do you- Not again!" Kasumi groans as three soldiers block their path.

But, contrary to the Russland soldier, these three do not reach for their weapons when Engelard notches an arrow in his bow. It was technically three against two, so maybe they just knew they had the advantage in numbers and didn't get frightened.

Instead, they put both their hands up and slowly approach the group. Kasumi glances at Engelard, who slowly draws the arrow down from his bow, and returns it to the holster on his back.

As they walk closer, the flag patches Kasumi sees stitched to the arms resemble Finnland. Weren't they, as far as Kasumi's knowledge went, their enemies, along with Russland? Why did it appear as though they were surrendering?

It appears all three soldiers are men. Kasumi scowls, wondering if any females were on the battlefield. There needed to be more gender representation! More sympathetic fans!

"Hello. We are three soldiers from Finnland and pose no threat to you. We were wondering, do you know anything about a vehicle that was taken in the early morning from our camp nearby? We tracked it with GPS until it crossed a raised drawbridge. We lost the signal, and our superior wants a reason as for why the vehicle was taken and what may have happened to it," the man in the middle speaks, and finds it safe to lower his hands.

The two others beside him follow his action.

Kasumi watches as Engelard's eyes grow wide.

"Leon and Felix...went over a raised drawbridge? Who was driving?" Engelard whispers, but Kasumi can hear him perfectly.

"Felix was probably driving. Do you think their superior is the Russland soldier Nicholas killed?" Kasumi asks, and Nicholas glances over his shoulder at her.

"Why, your tone leads me to believe that you think I committed the worst crime the world has ever seen! If not for my charm, Engelard here would have died, and we may as well have just dropped dead too, Madam Kasumi," Nicholas retorts, ending his statement with a shining smile.

Engelard raises an eyebrow at the two's exchange, then focuses his attention back on the group of soldiers, who are patiently waiting for an answer.

"Two of our friends took that vehicle in the direction of Deutschland, hoping to ask for help fighting the war. You said you lost signal for that vehicle with GPS tracking when it presumably went over the bridge?" Engelard got three nods in reply.

"Yes. We may have lost the signal because the vehicle got into a wreck, the signal was cut intentionally, or the device was damaged some other way, so it is very possible the vehicle and your friends are okay. If it is alright to ask, who were the friends who took the vehicle?" The man to the middle's left speaks, and Engelard clears his throat and takes a breath before replying.

"Leon Kreshnik, a former knight of Schweiz, and Felix Adelric, the former Army General of Schweiz. And is your superior a soldier from Russland? If so, could he be the body behind us?" Engelard steps aside to reveal the bloody body.

The Finnish soldiers shiver, but nod. Their expressions reveal both their relief but also surprise. Kasumi can only guess what brought on the shock.

"Former Army General? Our superior told us a peace conference was held yesterday, and the new Army General for Schweiz said Adelric was killed in action. Is that not true? Is he still alive?"

Engelard smiles.

"If he made it over the drawbridge, then he very well is alive. I don't see any reason why he would attempt to go over the drawbridge if death was a very real possibility. And there is a very low chance that Felix would ever die in action. Ask a local of Schweiz next time someone tells you something about Adelric if you can't ask him yourself."

Kasumi and Nicholas exchange expressions of relief. If Leon and Felix were to face death going over the drawbridge, Felix would have avoided it. So, they must have made it over, lost the signal with the GPS on the impact from the vehicle hitting the ground after the jump, and were now in Deutschland, asking for-

"If your friends made it over the drawbridge, they weren't killed by the tracking vehicle from Russland. They must have run into our intelligence team, too," the man in the middle speaks again, and everyone goes silent.

Intelligence? Like the people who possess top secret information about the war, and each country's strengths, weaknesses, and other important stuff? Were all of the Finnland soldiers so eager to surrender and against the idea of a war against Schweiz with Russland as their ally? If so, Felix and Leon would be fine.

If not, well... Kasumi didn't want to think about that. Help from Deutschland would be a lost cause at that point.

"Is your intelligence team a threat to them?" Kasumi steps forward to be between Nicholas and Engelard, who move their respective ways to give her room to comfortably stand.

"Finnland was forced to be Russland's ally in this war, else we lose our country again. Our Army General, Miss Eelin, was killed trying to defy Russland's proposal, and now we are using this opportunity of being in Schweiz to look for the boy who our general named next in line to command our military. Last our intelligence knew of his whereabouts, he was in Schweiz, but we know nothing more," the man in the middle speaks again.

"Heilige Scheiße! Are they talking about Reko? He's the next Army General of Finnland's military? Was this woman in her right mind appointing him? Do these soldiers know just how violent he is? He was literally inches away from injuring me with a dagger he threw from, like, ten feet away!" Engelard curses in a hushed voice, and both Kasumi and Nicholas shrug.

"Maybe so. If that's the case, Finnland's in great hands once we rescue him and he goes back to his home country," Nicholas smiles, and the two groups examine one another before the silence is broken.

"So, what are you three planning on doing? We gave you all the information you asked for, and your superior's dead. We're on our way to the White Cathedral to rescue Reko," Engelard lets the boy's name casually slip from his lips, a sly smile coming over his expression afterward when the soldiers try and contain their excitement.

"Reko's here? He's alive? Oh, that's so great to hear! We'll accompany you to wherever it is you need to recuse him from. You could use the extra firepower," the man to the middle's right speaks, his joy signifying he was probably still a teenager.

"Yes! More fans!" Kasumi twirls and giggles once the group of six heads in the direction of Schlieren.

Words and phrases used in this chapter:

Schweiz- Switzerland

Tokio- Tokyo

Sommer- Summer

Olympische Winterspiele- Winter Olympic

Russland- Russia

Finnland- Finland

Heilige Scheiße!- Holy shit!