"INCOMING!!"
Another volley of arrows, another wall of shields in response. The offensive side that was the Shogunate army had yet to make much progress in their attack on us, but despite this they would regularly have their archers fire upon our position to attempt to weaken our defence.
We were quite quick to react to these arrow storms sent our way, but not always quick enough. We suffered several casualties from those unable to find shelter from the Shogunate volleys... and from those unfortunate enough to be within range of General Kujou Sara's arrow that she fired, an arrow that no matter where it landed would emit a pulse of Electro energy around it.
I was able to use my Vision to quickly heal most the wounds from normal arrows, but it was difficult for me to tend to the injuries caused by Kujou Sara's arrows specifically. If she were to keep at it with the accuracy she had been showing thus far... I worry that we'll end up too exhausted to carry on with the defensive. Currently, our only recourse was to stand our ground and attempt to respond in time, with arrows fired of our own on to the Shogunate attackers.
"INCOMING!!"
There wasn't much else we could really do, not without taking major risks to the security of our position. Our current numbers meant that we were running at 100% efficiency, and sending any number of troops out there to try and fight head on would mean that we would lose some of our defensive capabilities, meaning insignificant covering fire for those that dared to step out with swords and spears in hand.
Nobody else here had a Vision on them, other than myself. So I was the only one who could fire off any elemental projectiles off at the Shogunate, like Kujou Sara has shot off towards us. But the platoon leader had advised me to not attempt anything of the sort for now, so as to not wear myself thin until it was absolutely necessary, so that I could be used as a last resort in the event that the Shogunate managed to push through our defences before the reinforcements could arrive.
"INCOMING!!"
But with all that was being done to these soldiers around me, those that I had seen around the Resistance Camp for the past several months, to see them getting endlessly besieged like this... with nothing more that I could do but to lift up a shield in hopes that those behind me would find shelter from the arrows flying towards them. It infuriated me.
Was this really the best plan they could come up with? To have us just stand our ground out here, alone. To be under endless sieging, dozens of them being brought so close to death, and with no better plan than to just remain here and wait for reinforcements that we weren't even sure was coming— if they were routed during their earlier step of the mission before they were to aid us... that would mean not only would we have nobody coming to help us, but that the opposing force against us would actually get bolstered even further.
Y/N: "... there must be something we can do..."
Hayate: "You see it now, right? The way we fight back against the Shogunate scum? It's completely backwards! All we do is let them beat us up for a while until we can scare them off with some reinforcements. With the way stuff gets done around here, it's no wonder we've made next to no progress at all. Not until these past couple days, when the Shogunate weren't even on the Island in a meaningful way and we just quickly claimed as much of no man's land as we could before they returned."
Yukina: "If it wasn't for whatever it was you did on Narukami Island, we wouldn't have made so much progress... You weren't even fighting beside us and still you made the largest impact!"
Hayate: "The power of Visions... such a covetable power."
Jaren: "Yeah. If only we had some more Vision Wielders in our group. Then we would be able to actually do something about all this!"
"INCOMING!!"
Y/N: "BRACE!"
Again, as I had every other time before now, I lifted up my shield and my team came and stood behind me, allowing me to protect them. I was not as well-trained with ranged weapons as some of the other soldiers were. Usually using the ranged capabilities of my Vision to cover such weaknesses, and with the platoon leader asking me to use my Vision as little as possible... it meant that I was best left on shield duty, whilst my subordinates would all be a part of the archery defence beside me.
Yukina: "Clear!"
Hayate: "Thank the Archons that those Shogunate dogs have such terrible aim! And the arrows that do hit their mark just bounce right off our shields! What cruddy marksmanship! The smiths in charge of their equipment ought to be ashamed!"
Jaren: "I... I'd rather we were just okay with their arrows not piecing through, personally..."
Yukina: "Did you not hear me say 'Clear'?! Less chatter and more sniping! We're not gonna show our might with just petty gossip! Come on, boys, shoot!"
As usual, Yukina was keeping the two guys from gobbing off too much, as she always did. It really shouldn't have come to anyone's surprise that I ended up declaring Yukina as second in-command should I be absent for any reason. She might not have quite the proficiency in battle that Hayate has, but she is always focused 100% on any and all orders that I give her and the rest of the team. I could rest assured on leaving those three to fill out my orders without my presence, knowing that Yukina would keep the team on the straight and narrow until we reunited.
It was a matter that I had brought up with General Gorou previously, actually, seeing as how he had mentioned perhaps splitting me away from Leviathan I so that I could instead become a dedicated instructor for new recruits. I remember telling the General that, should the team end up being split up and the three remaining troops of Leviathan I to be placed elsewhere, that Yukina should definitely be offered a position of leadership. The role suit her well. Almost as well as Hayate suited the frontlines!
Yukina: "Captain?"
Y/N: "Hm? What is it, Yukina?"
Yukina: "... We're running out of arrows. We've only got seven left between us."
Hayate: "Us and the whole of our defence! At this rate we're going to end up being sitting ducks! Where the hell are our reinforcements already?!"
Jaren: "th–They take prisoners, don't they...? The Shogunate, I mean?"
... They bring up a good point. What exactly are we meant to do when we run out of arrows? The Shogunate side will certainly realise something is up when we all stop firing our volleys back at them as we have been for the past few hours. And what then? What would they do? Would they continue their assault from afar until we surrendered? Or would they charge upon our position now under no threat of retaliation until we were utterly overwhelmed?
Captain: "Platoon leader, sir! Our team only has one volley of arrows left, sir!"
Platoon Leader: "Understood. And what of our reserves, Logistics division?!"
Logistics Specialist: "Sir, we've only got a couple dozen's worth of arrows left, sir!"
Platoon Leader: "So little... but what about all that we had brought with us?!"
Logistics Specialist: "Sir, the weather has damaged a majority of our supplies beyond use due to a leak in the supply room that went unnoticed, sir!"
Platoon Leader: "... Captain Y/N! Step down here for a moment, you are needed."
Y/N: "Sir, yes sir! Yukina, you're on shield duty for now. Don't let these two get shot whilst I'm gone, alright?"
Yukina: "Heh. You can count on me, Captain!"
I only really had time to give Yukina a nod in response to this. So as to not leave the platoon leader waiting for too long. And so, after giving my soldier my confidence, I jumped down off the tall wall that me and my team were positioned up on and glided down to the ground level of this fort so as to speak in closer proximity with the one who requested my presence.
Y/N: "Sir?"
Platoon Leader: "Captain Y/N, I have heard good things about you. That you have been able to hold your own against Shogunate soldiers without backup. Are these rumours true?"
Y/N: "Sir, There are truths to the rumours, I would say, sir."
Platoon Leader: "Hmm. Good. Because we may need use of you and your Vision now. As you may have gathered, supplies are less stocked than originally predicted. If we don't do something to relieve these logistic issues then I am not sure we'll manage to maintain this position without suffering significant losses."
Y/N: "I can assume as much, yes. What would you have me do, sir?"
Platoon Leader: "... I hate to ask it of you, to practically abandon a soldier under my command to fend for themself... but the General himself said that you would be capable of holding your own."
Y/N: "I see... So, you want me to head out there and engage the enemy up close? Alone?"
Platoon Leader: "I understand you are well trained with your Vision, and that you have prior experience with similarly impossible feats. Are you willing to do so once more, to save us from a total collapse of this position?"
Y/N: "... with no backup?"
Platoon Leader: "Only that of which our remaining arrow supplies can provide, and the imminent reinforcements of the two General's forces yet to arrive."
Y/N: "I see... If I may, sir... might I make a suggestion?"
* KUJOU SARA'S POV *
It has been suspiciously quiet from our enemy over yonder. Our last several waves of arrows have not been contested at all. Not that I am complaining, as we have received many injuries from those arrows fired in the last several hours. More than I might like. But with such a difficult position to attack as we are, there is little we can do otherwise. We just have to maintain the siege and starve them out of supplies... something that may have now happened, judging from the lack of any return fire in the past several minutes.
Of course, we should not celebrate too soon. For, even from such a distance as I am, I was able to discern that familiar figure standing atop the wall... Y/N. They were definitely a threatening element to our attack, especially as we were beside the coast, with the sea but throwing distance away from us. And as Y/N had demonstrated previously, back in Ritou, they were capable of attacking us with the very sea itself. If they chose to use it as a weapon again, in a far more aggressive manner than they had previously, then our position here would be utterly lost.
That was the main reason why we had not risked pushing forwards yet, and why we remained up here on these dirt banks as best we could. So that, should I see the sea come charging towards us, it would give me time to issue an order of retreat before too much damage was dealt to our remaining fighting force.
Soldier: "General Kujou! Somebody is coming towards us!"
Of course, I had already noticed this. I had my eye trained on them this entire time from the moment they jumped down from their spot upon that wall... but I did not know what to do about this. It seemed that, as they were a Vision Wielder, they were being made to take to the frontlines alone... at least for the time being. Of course, I could not be sure what their strategy was from just what was visible currently, but I know that Y/N is both an intelligent and a powerful person. They would not accept this if they did not have a suitable enough plan.
Even if that sorrowful look on their face would beg to differ.
Soldier: "General! Should we prepare a volley of arrows?"
Kujou Sara: "... No. That may be what they want for us to do. We will simply observe for the time being."
Soldier: "Of course, General."
There were two reasons as to why I gave that order. Firstly, was the reason that I gave to my subordinate. That we really had no idea what their plan was here, and I wasn't entirely certain what Y/N was actually capable of, all that I knew of them was that they are capable of defeating an Ancient Sea Beast such as they did the last time we met. I recall reading a report of the 'Hydro Homie' vigilante who had suddenly began to plague Shogunate soldiers stationed within Inazuma City. A vigilante that I now knew to be Y/N. And in that report, an arrow was fired at them by one of our own, and that arrow was not only stopped in mid-air by the power of their Vision, but the very same arrow was also thrown right back at the soldier, with enough precision and power that it completely destroyed the bow that was in their hands without hurting the soldier at all.
I suppose I should be thankful that they chose not to do that when they defended against me and the troops in my wake when we cornered Y/N on that dock at Ritou. Although, that may only be because I was not given the opportunity to fire an arrow before my weapon was flung into the sea by the unruly waves of water that were under Y/N's control.
The second reason why I had elected not to fire upon Y/N now, as they make the long journey forwards towards our station... it was because we made that deal before. That the both of us would attempt to mitigate the loss of life for both sides, that we would oppose each other on the battlefield and yet have the same goals... well, mostly. Y/N may not wish for harm to come to the Almighty Raiden Shogun and had even offered to come to her aid should it be needed, but they unfortunately seem quite dead set on fighting against the decrees that were put in place by that very same Raiden Shogun.
Normally, the Resistance forces would have retreated by now. They did not have the numbers for a maintained assault nor defence after all. So the fact that they still yet remain, despite seemingly running low on ranged attacks– if the recent lack of them were to be assessed as such– then that would mean that they have still yet something up their sleeve. Is it Y/N? Or is it something else? And if it is something else... is that perhaps why Y/N is now here as they are? Is this their way of warning me that a deadly attack was imminent? Are they attempting to intimidate our forces into leaving before such a plan could come into being?
Soldier: "General Kujou! The– The sea! Look at the sea! It's moving!!"
The soldier, whilst vague in his wording, was correct. The sea was indeed moving... similarly to how it did on the day when Y/N had distracted me so as to allow themselves to flee. But it did not move in the way I expected. Rather, instead, the tides were not advancing on our position at all... only upon Y/N's.
We stood upon the same beach, and yet only Y/N's feet were now swamped with the sea's water. Whilst we all still yet remained entirely dry upon the sandy floor we stood upon...
Kujou Sara: "Soldiers! To higher ground! Get upon those dirt banks!"
I did not really believe this to be all that necessary, seeing as how the current situation was. But I knew that I needed to give an order of some nature, so as to keep the façade that this was a deadly threat that we need to be wary of, and that I was taking this threat seriously myself.
As instructed, my soldiers headed to higher ground. In the process they lost some of their formation, as there was less ground for them to maintain that which I had instructed them to take. But they did at least do their best to maintain it as best they could. In the meantime... we were all watching the oncoming enemy soldier, with the sea now up above their shins and the beach that they were walking on all but gone from view... I could hear the worried whispering of soldiers behind me, but I still was not sure what Y/N's plan was. Would my calming my troops help or hinder their plan here...?
And what if I have been misreading this from the start? What if this was not a warning to myself, nor a prelude of what was to come of their other troops... what if this was a surrender play? That they were intending to fail, and that in exchange of their capture and imprisonment would Y/N be able to buy time for their fellow soldier? Now that I think of it, we really should have come up with some manner of non-verbally indicating what exactly the other's intentions... are...
Soldier: "... no way... Visions can do that?! They can really do that?!!"
Soldier: "th–that's... that's insane!!"
Of course, the matter of which they were in disbelief about... that would be the sudden change in size of Y/N's weapon. I was already privy to the fact that this weapon was one crafted solely for Y/N's hand, that it was as ancient as their past, forged by an evil God for means of eradicating humans and Gods alike. That was something that Y/N had told me in confidence whilst I escorted their exhausted self up to the Grand Narukami Shrine after their fight with the Sea Beast.
What they had neglected to inform me about, however, was that they could seemingly use the water around them as a catalyst so as to boost the size of their weapon. And there seemed to be no limit to this growth at all, what with so much of the sea's water surrounding them... their already impressive weapon was now more than five times its original size, and was still growing even further still.
Soldier: "A single swing of that... They could take out a dozen soldiers with no chance in hell of stopping it."
Soldier: "A dozen? The rate it's still growing they could take us all out in a single strike! wh–What do we do, General?!"
Kujou Sara: ". . ."
That was the question, what should we do? Considering the circumstances, I was less worried about Y/N's fate in this exchange and more so for my own troops. They were quite right in their assumptions I would wager, that with the size of that weapon it could easily take out large counts of our current group with each and every swing Y/N took. And even now, the blade continued to grow to an incredibly unbelievable size... much more than I might have expected. If it were to grow much further I would wager that Y/N could very well be a threat to Tenshukaku itself...
Suddenly though, from the corner of my eye, I noticed some activity ongoing behind Y/N. Back in the Resistance–controlled fortress. And that's when I realised what the plan was, and why Y/N had been doing nothing but walking towards us with no real attempt to attack us yet. They were simply the distraction!
Kujou Sara: "Incoming! Raise the shields!"
As ordered, my troops did as I told them. Whether that was because they saw the incoming volley of arrows that were just launched towards us, or because they suspected an attack from Y/N I would not know. But with the shields raised it provided us protection from the oncoming attacks and—
Kujou Sara: "Agh!"
Soldier: "General?! The General's been hit!"
Soldier: "She's not the only one! We just took some heavy hits from that barrage! General! What should we do?!"
Kujou Sara: "...agh... We pull back. We've lost some land, we must ensure it is all that we lose. Retreat!"
Doing my best to nurse the arrow lodged in my shoulder, I continued to maintain watch of the Resistance members whilst my fellow Shogunate troops began to retreat. Waiting until everyone was on the move before also following in their footsteps, in heading the opposite direction of the target we planned to attack— back towards the forward operating base that was now our most forward of encampments after having lost this one for the time being.
*splash!*
Of all the things I had expected to have been attacked by, my last assumption was for it to be the tide of the sea. But attack me it did, striking so high as to reach my shoulder and— wait. Was that an attack? The arrow that was in my shoulder... it's been washed away, and the hole in which it pierced me looked far less egregious than it did when it first struck me.
And... was that my imagination, or did I hear the wave of seawater that crashed into me whisper something in my ear? I could have sworn I heard it apologise to me with a "sorry" but was that just the sound of the water crashing so suddenly against me and overwhelming my senses? Or was that Y/N, apologising for the severity of what occurred...?
Soldier: "Look! Up there! Behind us! More Resistance fighters were coming to flank us!"
Soldier: "Thank the Archons we retreated already. If we got caught in the middle like that..."
Kujou Sara: "Enough! Focus on returning safely, lest they give chase and catch you flat–footed."
Soldier: "y–Yes General! Sorry General!"
They're right, of course. If we weren't forced to retreat right then, we would have been flanked on three of four sides, leaving us to do nothing but retreat... but if it took us that long to start retreating, we would assuredly have been intercepted and incapacitated. This must have been the reason for why they held their ground for so long despite running out of resources to fight back, why they were willing to send Y/N to fight us alone out on the battlefield, the reason for Y/N's attempt at intimidating us, and perhaps even why they had that sorrowful look on their face...?
* YUKINA'S POV *
Jaren: "The reinforcements! They're here! They're here!"
Hayate: "Hmph. They showed up a minute too late. What's even the point now? Those Shogunate scum are already in full retreat."
There he goes again... always the negative and bloodthirsty one, that Hayate. Not that I was paying any attention to it right now. My focus was entirely on the marvel that was Y/N, our Captain. My Captain! I never could have imagined they could have done something so cool with their weapon! No wonder they're so attached to it! And here I was asking them to use that other claymore we got from the Treasure Hoarders for training...
Now that the threat was gone and the reinforcements were now en route to our position, it seemed that Captain deemed it a good enough time to... sheathe their weapon... I guess? The blade that could have scraped the clouds from the sky was now growing smaller in size, with a whole slew of the receding water rushing away from the Captain 's feet and back towards the sea that they had borrowed it from. It took quite a while for such a large amount of water to displace itself, but by the time that the reinforcements had gotten close to Captain had their sword now returned back to it's normal size.
I could see the Divine Priestess, Sangonomiya Kokomi, was at the front of the reinforcements heading towards the Captain. She seemed to be speaking to them about something. I couldn't really tell from this distance what sort of emotion was on her face, but I'm sure she's just as impressed as I am! After all, that was really—
Jaren: "Is it just me... or did the Captain just fall over...?"
Hayate: "Hmm... They did say that they were running low on rest from their last mission."
Yukina: "c–Captain?!"
* Y/N'S POV *
I... what? Where am I? Is this... This is my room at camp, right? But I thought that...? What happened? The last thing I can remember is... It was that attack at that fort, right? I... I remember that the reinforcements had just shown up, and that Kokomi person had said something to me. But... I can't remember what it was... or what happened next...
???: "Ah, you're awake already?"
Something that I definitely didn't expect was for a sudden voice to erupt from beside me as I was stirring. It was surprising enough that I had most definitely jumped a little bit. Something that seemed to worry the person who was sat beside my bed. And, coincidentally, it was the person that I had just been thinking about...
Kokomi: "Ah, my apologies! Hmm... You look well enough. Thank goodness. How are you feeling?"
Y/N: "Mmm... *yawn* Well enough, I suppose. I feel like I've got a bit of a headache though..."
Kokomi: "Ah, yes. That is a common symptom with those recovering from Vision strain. Here, I prepared a glass and pitcher of water for you."
Saying this, Kokomi had turned around to reach for the small table beside, of which sat the very pitcher of water and a couple of glasses, as she had said. She then poured some water into the glass before handing it to me with a smile, to which I gratefully accepted and then drank the chilled drink that had been handed to me. But whilst I was drinking... I couldn't help but wonder why... why the leader of this entire movement was seeing to me personally?
Y/N: "...Thank you."
Kokomi: "Please, do not mention it. It is the least I might do, considering the risks that you took today for your fellow brothers and sisters in arms."
Y/N: "...Is that why you're here? Rather than just a more standard healer of the army?"
Kokomi: "o–Oh? Perhaps do you find this situation disquieting? I did not mean to intrude, nor to make you feel uncomfortable. I just wished to give you my appreciation in person."
Y/N: "Oh? You really didn't have to do that. I agreed to the plan only after my adjustments were accepted after all... not to say that I wouldn't have done something similar regardless if things got too dicey..."
Kokomi: "Even so, it was a fantastic moment for troop morale, to see somebody of your strength fighting amongst us, with you alone being enough to force retreat to the... rather commendable fighting force that is General Kujou Sara's platoon. It was a most tremendous sight I might think, for both those sheltered within that encampment as well as those of both mine and General Gorou's forces. And I see now that General Gorou's high praise of you was not misplaced. Although, I don't believe you will have many lining up in hopes of being a part of the eight men that we needed to simply carry that weapon of yours back."
Y/N: "Oh? Ahaha! It is pretty heavy I've heard! But... even still... to have the one in charge of the entire Resistance Army, the Supreme Leader, visit me personally feels... a little undeserved, if I'm being honest!"
Kokomi: "Hmm... You think so? Well then, if you might prefer it, you could instead consider my visit here today as simply a way to give me some time to myself, and to remain within my own thoughts whilst I awaited your awakening so that we might speak now."
Y/N: "Oh? Well, I suppose that could do! Oh, uhm... how is everyone by the way? Do you need me to help with any matters of healing?"
Kokomi: "Ah, you have no need to worry about that. We are already tending to those injured in the battle. Thanks to your presence during the battle, all of the serious injuries caused by arrow fall are now nothing but a couple of bandages at most. As for those burned by the General's electro arrows, they are expected to make a full recovery sooner than later. Especially with the help of that young lady who came looking for you. She is quite proficient with Nako weed indeed."
Y/N: "Young lady...? You mean Yukina?"
Kokomi: "Oh, no, not her. Although she was quite worried about you. I believe she and the other members of Leviathan I are currently on guard duty, as per General Gorou's orders. No, I'm talking about someone external to our efforts. She came by looking for you whilst you were recovering. I spoke to her some regarding the matters she wanted to discuss with you, I've given her my blessing to borrow your person for her mission. If what she says is true, then it would most definitely benefit our encampment if the two of you were to deal with it."
Y/N: "The two of us?"
Kokomi: "Indeed. Unfortunately, I cannot allow you to enlist the rest of your team to accompany you, as with the current state of the war we will be in need of as many men and women as we can. But with you in your current state of recovery, I would rather keep you away from the battlefield for some time. Something that your friend told me will be more than possible with this task of yours."
Y/N: "I... I suppose that makes sense. But then, what of the rest in my team? Are they being taken under someone's wing or—?"
Kokomi: "Do not fret. They will, again, be placed directly under my command. I will keep a watchful eye over them. Although, I hear they are quite the capable soldiers as it stands. I will look forward to the success they will help us secure. Now, that lady friend of yours must be growing quite bored of waiting. I believe she is waiting just outside of your room. I will take my leave now. Oh, and Y/N?"
Y/N: "Hmm? What is it, General?"
Kokomi: "It was... rather enlightening to speak with you today. I would wish to do so again, soon. Never in my life might I have thought to have spoken with one of your heritage, but to speak with one of the Phaethons long believed to be lost to time? It is truly an honour."
The things she just said... what Kokomi had said to me with such admiration in her tone... it took me a while to process what exactly it was she had said, not that I understood much if any of the latter of it at all. What was that word she used? The Phaethons?
Not that I had a chance to really ask about it, as by the time that my mind had caught up with what had just transpired did I realise that Sangonomiya Kokomi was now already long gone from the room that I called my own. Leaving me with nothing to do but sit here on my bed, pondering what it was that I just learnt so suddenly...
I suppose, for the time being, I might as well step outside and see who this 'lady friend' of mine is that is waiting outside to speak to me. It would seem I have a new mission already after all, so I might as well get the briefing and get on with it so that I might return to my team's side before too long. From the way the Supreme Leader had worded it, I could only presume that this mission would lack much if any meaningful combat. So it would be a good way for me to keep active without further straining myself.
* * *
???: "Ah, it's about time! If I knew you'd spend the day napping away like some other lazybones I know then I would have spent the time catching up on some of the stuff the gang's been putting off instead!"
Y/N: "Hm? Oh! It's you!"
Y/N: "Hey, Shinobu! What are you doing here? I thought you wanted to avoid coming into the camp?"
Shinobu: "Eh, it was less I wanted to avoid it and more that I didn't want to go stepping on your teammate's feet too much. They don't seem too fond of me really. That girl of yours looked like she was about to loose an arrow into me when I told her I came to see you!"
Y/N: "Oh? Well, with how often you keep showing up, I'm sure they'll grow to like you sooner than not! Ahaha!"
Shinobu: "Well, that would certainly make it less awkward when I come to collect you for that dinner I promised you before."
Y/N: "Oh, so that's not what you're here for? Darn, I guess I got my hopes up for nothing!"
Shinobu: "Heh. Sounds like you're looking forward to it as much as I am~ But no, that's not what I'm here for... for now. Instead, I came to discuss the unnatural weather of this Island that I told you I'd do some looking into for you. I found that guy you mentioned and we got to talking. It looks like it'll be quite an easy fix for the two of us. And that Sangonomiya Kokomi said that I could steal you away for the time being to assist me. So I guess that means you're all mine for the time being~"
Y/N: "We're leaving now...?"
Shinobu: "Mhm. That's right. There's no time like the present, after all. And don't worry, your General informed me of your reagitating that Vision strain of yours, so I won't have you doing anything too strenuous. It'll just be some walking, talking and solving some intricate puzzles by the sound of it. All whilst dodging the lightning that never relents. You in?"
Y/N: "Sounds like a pretty good reprieve from some of the things I've had to deal with these past couple days. I'd be honoured, Shinobu."
Shinobu: "Great. Not that I would have taken no for an answer anyways. Come on then, let's go~"
<5666 words>